Naked in Death: In Death, Book 1

Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over 10 years on the force, she's seen it all - and knows that her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire - and suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about - except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.

Curious Minds: A Knight and Moon Novel

Emerson Knight is introverted and eccentric and has little to no sense of social etiquette. Good thing he's also brilliant, rich, and (some people might say) handsome, or he'd probably be homeless. Riley Moon has just graduated from Harvard Business and Harvard Law. Her aggressive Texas spitfire attitude has helped her land her dream job as a junior analyst with megabank Blane-Grunwald. At least Riley Moon thought it was her dream job, until she is given her first assignment: babysitting Emerson Knight.

The Cold Dish: A Walt Longmire Mystery

Introducing Wyoming's Sheriff Walt Longmire in this riveting novel from the New York Times best-selling author of Dry Bones, the first in the Longmire series, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. Johnson draws on his deep attachment to the American West to produce a literary mystery of stunning authenticity, full of memorable characters.

1st to Die: The Women's Murder Club

There's a killer on the loose in San Francisco, and he's stalking newlyweds. When the usual procedures to stop him don't work, four women, each holding a piece of the puzzle, form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case. 1st to Die is the start of a new series of crime thrillers from James Patterson.

Masked Ball at Broxley Manor: A Royal Spyness Novella

At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.

One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel, Book 1

You’ve lost your job as a department store lingerie buyer, your car’s been repossessed, and most of your furniture and small appliances have been sold off to pay last month’s rent. Now the rent is due again. And you live in New Jersey. What do you do? If you’re Stephanie Plum, you become a bounty hunter. But not just a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter; you go after the big money. That means a cop gone bad. And not just any cop. She goes after Joe Morelli, a disgraced former vice cop who is also the man that took her virginity....

A Study in Scarlet Women: The Lady Sherlock Series, Book 1

With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper-class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name.

Based upon the graphic novels by Joe Harris - with creative direction from series creator Chris Carter - and adapted specifically for the audio format by aural auteur Dirk Maggs (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Alien: Out of the Shadows), Cold Cases marks yet another thrilling addition to the pantheon of X-Files stories. Featuring a mind-blowing and otherworldly soundscape of liquefying aliens, hissing creatures, and humming spacecraft, listeners get to experience the duo's investigations like never before.

Spartan Gold: Fargo Adventures, Book 1

In 1800, while crossing the Pennine Alps, Napoleon Bonaparte and his army stumbled across the pillars. Unable to transport them, Napoleon created an inscrutable map on the labels of twelve bottles of rare wine. When Napoleon died, the bottles disappeared - and the gold pillars were lost once again. Treasure-hunters Sam and Remi Fargo are exploring the Great Pocomoke Swamp in Delaware when they are shocked to discover a German U-boat. Inside, they find a bottle taken from Napoleon's 'lost cellar'.

The Brady Hawk Series, Books 1-3

Meet Brady Hawk. Former Navy SEAL. Former Peace Corps worker. Current blacks ops assassin. To those with the highest security clearance, it's a line item known only as Project X. But to the half-dozen agents and personnel working for it, it's known as Firestorm, a black ops group so dark that the US president doesn't even know about them yet. And no agent is as skilled as Brady Hawk.

Deja Dead

It's June in Montreal, and Dr. Temperance Brennan, who has left a shaky marriage back home in North Carolina to take on the challenging assignment of Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, looks forward to a relaxing weekend in beautiful Quebec City. First, though, she must stop at a newly uncovered burial site in the heart of the city. The remains are probably old and only of archeological interest, but Tempe must make sure they're not a case for the police. One look at the decomposed and decapitated corpse, stored neatly in plastic bags, tells her she'll spend the weekend in the crime lab.

Memory Man

Amos Decker's life changed forever - twice. The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good and left him with an improbable side effect - he can never forget anything.

Fallback: A Sam Prichard Mystery

Sam Prichard was a good kid, but sometimes that isn't enough to let you miss out on the bad parts of life. Losing his father at sixteen had been bad enough, but then facing the betrayal of his fiancé--a girl who had been his best friend and sweetheart for as long as he could remember--was even worse. Then, just when he thought life couldn't get worse, his lifelong dream of being a cop was blocked by a hiring freeze in his home city of Denver, Colorado.

The Excoms

Ananke thought her week couldn't get worse, but as she hunts for the man who screwed up her previous job, things really go sideways. Turns out, she's not the only one having problems. Rosario can acquire anything for anyone, but can she obtain freedom for herself when her latest assignment goes awry? Dylan's sure his new gig will be a walk in the park - or rather, a drive, given that he's a courier. Unfortunately, the road is a bit bumpier than he expected.

The Black Book

Billy Harney was born to be a cop. The son of Chicago's chief of detectives, whose twin sister is also on the force, Billy plays it by the book. Alongside Detective Kate Fenton, Billy's tempestuous, adrenaline-junkie partner, there's nothing he wouldn't sacrifice for his job. Enter Amy Lentini, a hard-charging assistant state's attorney hell-bent on making a name for herself - who suspects Billy isn't the cop he claims to be. They're about to be linked by more than their careers.

The Late Show

Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none, as each morning she turns her cases over to day shift detectives. A once up-and-coming detective, she's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor. But one night she catches two cases she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn.

Publisher's Summary

In the sequel to the New York Times best-selling Heat Wave, Richard Castle does it again with his thrilling new mystery. Tough, sexy, professional, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. In what’s sure to be another smash sensation by blockbuster author Richard Castle, listeners will once again follow Nikki Heat and hotshot reporter Jameson Rook as they trade barbs and innuendos - all while on the trail of a murderer!

I thought this was a well paced, wittily written mystery, as was the first book.
For people who are looking for an episode of the the TV series in which the supposed author is a character, you have missed the point. This is a story with it's own characters. Yes, you can see similarities, but they aren't supposed to be the same!
A fun read, a fun listen. If you like the show, you will find a few in jokes as well.

A complete sleeper for me -- never heard of the book, never heard of the author (whom I now understand is a fictional character), never seen the television show or listened to anything else the narrator had read. But something in the blurb appealed to me, so I went for it. Good deal. It's a very good book, made even better by the narrator, Johnny Heller. Not only does Heller perform perfectly, but he has a voice that's pure pleasure to listen to. He sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't quite place it -- a bit like Peter Falk, maybe? Anyway, very nice voice quality.

As for the book, there's plenty of action, interesting characters with a requisite amount of quirky personality characteristics, nobody comes off as obnoxious -- except for the bad guys (or girls) -- and lots of moments when you find yourself listening way beyond the allotted time.

Nothing profound here, just a good, enjoyable "I want more" book to enjoy -- I suspect I'll listen to this one more than once. It's one of those books that's sufficiently interesting that it really doesn't matter if you know who did it or not. The trip is worth it, all by itself.

I downloaded "naked heat" because I really like the tv-show castle. so for me it was great fun to listen to a book written by a fictinous writer. It's a nice addition to the show, but I think it wouldn`t work that well if you`re not a castle fan.

Listening to books is the way I separate from the stress of being an attorney. I enjoy fiction, mystery thrillers, an occasional romance, and books about cutting edge medicine and science. I was a History major so that is always interesting too.

This is the second book in the series and the second Heat-Castle book I have listened to and I LOVE both of them. I'm anxious to complete the series, but I need to pace myself! I have enjoyed the character development in the novels thus far, and get a kick out of Rook's sense of humor and wit. I also particuarly appreciate the empathic approach the writer gives his star female detective, Nicki Heat.

Someone wrote that these Heat novels are similar to television cop dramas and I concur with that assessment. I like television cop dramas and I like the mystery combined with the story-line and the relationship development. I read several genres along these lines, some fluffier and some more intense. These Heat novels are the perfect middle ground for someone who wants to listen to a good story with good reading without too many graphic details but beyond simple fluff. There is some sexual content, but not too much. There is some language, but not too much.

Also, I LOVE this narrator. Before wasting a credit or $, I always read several reader reviews and Heller has received several positive ones, but something must be up with the reviewers who are writing negative comments because they are WAAAAY off base. What do I love about this reader? The voice fits. He gives a personal voice to all the characters with overt or subtle changes and keeps the listener captivated. The best part, and likely the reason he was chosen, is that he delivers the funny, clever and sarcastic comments of the male lead DEAD ON. It takes talent to deliver those lines and Heller doesn't miss. I have laughed out loud multiple times.

Highly recommend this series and if you're like me and read all the negative comments first then the positive ones later - please do not be dissuaded. I personally believe they are disengenuos. These books are worth your credit!

Johnny Heller, the narrator of this story, has been doing a lot a work lately and that's a good thing. But, the selection of stories that he is narrating is a problem for me. He has a very gentle, innocent, high-pitched voice that, in my opinion, should be confined to children's books, and not used in the adult murder/suspense category.

His narration has ruined more than one story for me. And, now he will be the first narrator that will cause me to decline selections from Audible.com.

Not a lot of substance, but not gloomy and dark either. I am seriously getting tired of the depressing one note bleakness in mystery right now and found this a refreshing change. Doesn't take a lot of energy to focus on like a good beach book. Funny without being too silly.

This might have been a bit more tolerable if I was doing on paper. I am happy to say I am writing this a few weeks after finishing this and can't remember specifics about why the narrator was so annoying but he was. The book itself reminded me of a stock-character-laden bad TV show...which I think this was based on. Not horrible but if you have time you should find the other 467 audio books I have bought. This might just barely make my Top 450. I have only rated 5 or 6 with one star and maybe 10 with 2. Kinda' like Wanbaugh without the humor.

I really enjoyed Naked Heat! However, it was really hard not to have Nathan Fillian(?)'s face, and (I'm sorry, I can't remember her name), the young female detective, on Castle)'s face. But, that was not a problem. :-) It was pleasurable listening, along with intrique, murder, and mystery. I really liked it. Can't wait for the author to do another.

I found this to be an interesting book, mainly because of the little winks to, and echoes from, the TV series CASTLE and the constant references in the series to certain pages of this particular book. If you don't know the series, I am not so sure what you will make of it..

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Agent Gibbs

England

7/17/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Like an episode of Castle by another name"

If you are a fan of Castle you'll surely love the book series written by that ruggedly handsome writer, the names may be different but this is the same a tale of Beckett and Castle through and through albeit with a unique and different flare that makes it compelling to read or in this case listen to

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Faye

Falmouth, United Kingdom

9/16/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Love this series"

Would you listen to Naked Heat again? Why?

Absolutely, with the final solution in mind it'd be wonderful to re-read and see it all fitting together.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I actually pretty much did listen to it in one sitting. Or two 5 hour sittings.

Any additional comments?

Really brilliant way to add onto the series and although at first I worried the books would feel less alive and vibrant in comparison to the tv show, its actually really nice to get longer denser mysteries peppered with the same banter and humour.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Donald

Braintree, United Kingdom

10/18/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"For Castle Fans Only"

Where does Naked Heat rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

That's a tough question as it is far from a literary masterpiece, but I found it enjoyable nonetheless. If you are a fan of the TV series you'll enjoy the tone and dialogue in the book, but if you aren't already a fan I don't think this book will convert you.

Would you be willing to try another book from Richard Castle? Why or why not?

Maybe, there are a lot of tropes and twists taken from the TV series so in some ways it is a review or an extension of that. It doesn't have the wit and intention of a Chandler book, but does pitch at the 'gumshoe PI' genre.

Have you listened to any of Johnny Heller’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I think this is the first Johnny Heller performance I've listened to and it was engaging enough. You hear Nathan Fillion's voice even if there is another actor portraying Derrick Storm.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

In a word, nope. I am familiar with Castle and most of the bits in the book are lifted from there - and the twisted are as telegraphed as the punches that are thrown. Still enjoyable and diverting as pulp fiction.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.